Forbidden
by E.M.R. Harrison
Summary: Gabriel and Peter are trying to find their way in the brave new world. Peter comes to realize just how much he cares for Gabriel after a fit of jealousy.


Author Notes: Just something I wanted to write on a whim, I had never done slash before so I thought I'd do one with a bit of a twist. Hope you enjoy it all.

Heroes: Forbidden

**Peter Petrelli and Gabriel Grey**

**Central Park, NY**

"It's going to be a brave new world." Gabriel said in Peter's ear as they watched Peter's niece leap from the top of a 50 foot Ferris wheel in front of 3 news cameras. As she stood up and spoke to the cameras Peter glanced over to Gabriel.

"What do we do now?" Peter asked the man beside him.

"I don't know Peter." Gabriel said flatly still watching the commotion in front of them. "But maybe we should get out of here." he added looking over at Peter.

Peter nodded without saying a word. The two men turned on their heals and headed back towards the main entrance of the carnival, leaving the uproar behind them. They strolled through the park as they headed towards the street marveling at the lack of people in the center of New York. Peter looked over at Gabriel with only his eyes.

Gabriel's head was down watching the sidewalk as they walked and Peter wondered what was going on inside of his head. "Hey, you ok Gabriel?" Peter asked.

Gabriel tilted his head in a slight shrug. "Yeah, I guess." he answered in a melancholy tone.

"Doesn't sound too convincing." Peter said with empathy.

Gabriel stopped in his tracks and looked up at Peter with a blank stare. "What do you want me to say Peter?" he said firmly.

Peter shrugged shaking a hair out of his face and looking back into Gabriel's blank face. "I don't know, the truth maybe." Peter answered.

"The truth? You wouldn't want to hear the truth." Gabriel said looking away and beginning to walk away swiftly.

Peter had to jog to catch up with Gabriel he had walked off so fast. He placed a hand on the other man's shoulders and turned him to face him. He took a deep breath and looked Gabriel in the face.

"You can tell me Gabriel." Peter pleaded.

Gabriel let out a breath and pursed his lips together before shaking his head. "It may be a brave new world for everyone else, but with this all out there's no way I can be myself." Gabriel said.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"What's to stop them from putting my face all over the news and saying that I'm one of the dangerous specials and to capture me on sight. I'll have to go into hiding alone, again." Gabriel said before starting to walk off once more.

"What if it doesn't have to be that way?" Peter said running up beside him.

Gabriel looked at him with furrowed brows. "What do you mean?"

Peter licked his lips and glanced back towards the carnival. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Gabriel. "What if I can convince them that you've changed. Ask them not to do that." Peter explained.

"Even if you did, they all know who I was, I'd still be feared and alone." Gabriel said before brushing Peter's arm off of his shoulder. "See you around Peter." he said before flying off.

"Damn it!" Peter yelled spinning on the spot.

Peter ran back to the carnival and pushed his way through the crowd slowly. He reached Noah Bennet and put a hand on his shoulder. Noah turned to look at him with a brokenhearted look upon his bespectacled face.

"Peter. What's going on?" Noah asked with curiosity.

"I need to talk to you. Now." Peter said firmly.

"Now?" Noah repeated.

"Yes, it's important." Peter said.

"Fine, but it better be really important." Noah said glancing back towards the young lady he had raised the past 17 plus years.

Peter pulled Noah into the privacy of an empty tent outside of earshot from anyone else. He looked out the door to make sure no body was there spying before returning to the tent and sitting right in front of Noah.

"What's this about Peter?" Noah inquired.

"It's about Sy…Gabriel Grey." Peter started.

Noah sighed shook his head and sat back in his chair glaring a hole through Peter through his horn rimmed glasses. "What about him?" He asked tilting his head expectedly.

Peter licked his lips nervously. "I need to ask you to keep him off your list." Peter explained.

"My list?" Noah repeated in confusion.

Peter nodded and brushed a hair out of his face. "I spent what felt like three years trapped inside of his head courtesy of Matt Parkman. I borrowed his ability and was able to see inside Sylar's head. He's changed. He even captured Doyle and saved Emma from him without killing anyone." Peter explained.

"One good deed doesn't redeem a man from a lifetime of evil ones." Noah barked.

"That's not the point Noah. The point is, if you catch him, I'll rescue him. Over and over and over." Peter said.

"Why would you rescue the man who killed your brother?" Noah asked.

"Because, he helped me to let go of that anger and realize that he has truly repented. Nathan attacked him it was self defense and the other killings were uncontrollable, it was his hunger that made him kill." Peter explained.

"You're right. He couldn't help himself, if he truly has changed, he'll be free to do as he wishes, however, if he fouls up, you have to bring him in yourself. Understood." Noah said pointing a finger at Peter with a fierce look in his eyes.

Peter furrowed his brows at Noah knowing that look. Noah was hiding something and Peter only wished he had Matt's ability right now to find out what it was. "Sure. No problem." Peter said after a moments pause.

Noah nodded in confirmation and rose to his feet. "I'm trusting you on this one Peter. Don't make me regret this choice." Noah said.

Peter stood up to face Noah at eye level. "I won't." was all that he said.

Noah turned with a nod and walked out of the tent leaving Peter alone once more. Peter sighed and looked down at the ground wondering how long he could trust Noah to keep his word. He sat back down on the chair trying to think about where he could find Sylar. _"No, not Sylar, Gabriel." _

"Did you really mean that?" came a voice from behind Peter.

He stood up swiftly and spun on his heals to face behind him. A smile played at the corner of his lips when he saw Gabriel standing there with a look on his face that Peter had only seen once. It was the day he had given him the book for a late/early birthday present. It was a look of complete shock.

"Mean what?" Peter asked raising his hands to emphasize the question.

"That if he captured me, you'd rescue me, over and over." Gabriel said.

Peter tilted his head as if to say yeah so, "Yeah, I did." he answered.

"Why?" Gabriel asked.

"If you heard that part of the conversation I'm sure you heard my answer to that question before." Peter said.

Gabriel walked around the small table that had been separating them and stood in front of Peter. He tilted his head looking at the other man in a new way that Peter had never seen before.

"Because, I'm the only friend you have." Peter said slowly barely moving his lips.

Gabriel diverted his eyes looking down at the chair beside him before sitting in it and resting his head in his hands. His body shook slightly and Peter guessed that he was crying. A wave of guilt washed over him and he knelt down in front of the broken man before him.

"I'm sorry, Gabriel, I didn't mean to hurt you." Peter said.

His hand lifted slowly towards Gabriel's arm as if he were fighting an invisible presence that was stopping him from consoling the man in front of him. After what seemed like a lifetime his hand laid to rest on Gabriel's shoulder.

"It's not that." Gabriel said looking up from behind his hands.

Peter's face filled with confusion and he pulled his hand back as though he had just been shocked. He didn't see grief or even hurt in Gabriel's face this time. No it was something else all together. Hope. Gabriel smiled up at Peter with hopeful eyes.

"Nobody has ever considered themselves my friend." Gabriel explained looking into Peter's eyes. "Thank you Peter, but I don't need your sympathy." he said flatly rising quickly to his feet.

Peter crouched there dumbfounded not knowing what else to say as Gabriel stood above him. He stood up and looked Gabriel in his face. "I never offered it." Peter said after a long pause.

"You didn't have to. I know that look. You feel sorry for me." Gabriel said.

Peter shook his head. "You've got it all wrong." he argued.

"Do I? You know I have a new ability Peter. It's called empathy, I can tell what people really feel, what they want. Do I have to use it on you?" Gabriel said stepping towards Peter.

Peter stepped back bumping the chair behind him. "Can't you just believe, that someone actually wants…" Peter started.

"Wants what Peter? To try and make me feel like I'm not all alone? How do you expect to do that? I didn't ask for your help, I don't need it. You don't have anything I want anyway." Gabriel said.

"What is it you want then Gabriel?" Peter asked.

"Nothing that you have to offer." Gabriel said flatly.

"What about friendship? Companionship? An ear to listen when you need to talk to someone. I can be that person, if you'll just let me in." Peter said.

"Is this part of your 'I want to be a Hero' charade? Cause if it is, it's not working." Gabriel said turning away from Peter and heading towards the door of the tent.

"Gabriel." was all that Peter could manage.

"I'm sorry Peter, you can't save them all." Gabriel said before flying off into the night.

Peter swore loudly to himself and kicked the chair Gabriel had just been sitting in. He flipped the table that was beside him and yelled out from a rage that he couldn't quite explain. The ground came closer to him as he dropped to his knees and tears began to fill his eyes blurring his vision. As his body began to shake violently with sobs he felt hands rest upon his shoulders.

The face Peter looked up into was the last one he had expected to see at that particular moment. However he only saw it for a moment before his view was obstructed by the blonde haired hug he was now receiving.

"What's wrong Peter?" Claire asked pulling herself slowly out of the hug and looking her Uncle in the eye.

"I can't save them all Claire." Peter said looking at his hands as if something had just been ripped out of them.

"Save who Peter?" Claire asked with a quizzical look upon her face.

"It doesn't matter anymore Claire." Peter said pushing himself to his feet. "I should go." he said before leaving the tent.

Claire ran out after him calling his name only to see that he was nowhere in sight. She wondered what had happened to make her uncle so upset when she remembered that she had seen her dad talking to him earlier. She ran over to him and asked to speak to him alone.

"What did you do to Peter?" Claire said the moment they were alone.

Noah looked at his daughter in confusion. "I didn't do anything to him, he asked me for a favor and I granted it to him." he explained.

"Well he seemed pretty upset a minute ago." Claire said.

"I don't know Claire. I really don't." Noah said with a straight face.

**Deveraux Rooftop**

**12:34 AM**

The wind was blowing steadily into his face as Gabriel looked out over Manhattan from the roof of the Deveraux building. He had never been here before but for some reason he felt a connection to it. A sense of familiarity, probably from the paintings he had seen of Isaac Mendez's. He closed his eyes and listened to the faint sounds of the city below, trying to think of where to go next. Wondering if perhaps Noah would keep his word about letting him go.

It was a brave new world and Gabriel Grey was scared of it. What seemed exciting at first seemed to be too good to be true now. He knew he would never be able to find true love and be accepted. He intimidated people far too much, no matter how hard he tried to be nice, it came out as being sinister in the end.

Gabriel let out a deep breath and climbed onto the ledge of the building. He sat down hanging his feet over the edge and hugging the decorative cement design beside him. His eyes wondered from one side to the other as he looked down at the ant sized people below. He wasn't thinking of jumping that would just hurt a lot then he'd heal and live to suffer another day of an immortal life all alone.

He stood up and turned to drop back onto the roof when he noticed that he wasn't alone anymore.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anybody else was up here." said the visitor.

Gabriel smiled faintly for a split second. "It's ok. I was just leaving." he said with a saddened face as he leapt back onto the roof.

"May I ask what you were doing up here?"

Gabriel looked back behind him to the cityscape. "Just reflecting." he said in a monotone voice.

"That's why I came up here. My name is Liz by the way." the lady said holding out her hand.

"Gabriel." Gabriel said taking the preferred hand in his own.

The second he did thoughts and visions began to swim into his mind so fast that it made him dizzy. Emotions began blaring through him like bullets through a shooting range target. He dropped to one knee unable to let go of the woman's hand. She stood staring at him in awe and jerked her hand free.

Gabriel gasped and braced himself with one hand on the roof of the building. When he caught his breath he stood up looking Liz in the eye his brows furrowed in pain. She blinked at him and began to step back towards the ledge.

"Wait." Gabriel said holding up his hands.

Liz stopped walking and looked at him with her head tilted.

"Don't do it, it's not worth it." Gabriel panted.

"Do what?" Liz asked.

"Kill yourself." Gabriel said staring at her pleadingly.

Liz gasped and her jaw dropped as she fell to her knees unable to support her own weight anymore. She dropped her head and began to sob violently. Gabriel scrambled over to her and knelt beside her placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I understand what your going through." Gabriel said.

Liz looked up at him skeptically. "Do you? Everyone I touch I hurt, unintentionally." she said through her tears.

"I'm touching you now, and it's not hurting me." Gabriel pointed out.

Liz looked at the hand on her shoulder then back up to Gabriel. The look on her face was completely puzzled and shocked. "But how? And how did you know I was going to kill myself?" she asked.

"Because, I have the ability to sense the past by touching something or someone, and I can also sense emotions and wants and desires." Gabriel explained.

"So you're special, like me?" Liz asked.

Gabriel nodded and adjusted himself to look Liz in the eye. "I too feel alone in this world. Nobody wants to be around me, they all feel like I'm a monster." Gabriel said with a hurtful voice.

Liz swallowed a lump in her throat. "I don't think you're a monster." she said reassuringly. "Did you come up here to kill yourself too?" she asked.

Gabriel shook his head. "No, it would be fruitless." he admitted.

"Why's that?" Liz asked tilting her head.

"Because I can't die." he answered.

"Must suck." Liz said with a slight laugh.

Gabriel couldn't help but to laugh at the sound of her laugh. "Yeah, pretty much. I'm stuck in my lonely miserable immortal life." Gabriel said with a smile as Liz looked up to meet his eyes.

Liz smiled back broader this time and touched his hand with hers. "Thank you Gabriel." she said kindly.

"For what?" he asked confused.

"For talking me out of leaping to a most likely messy if not painful death." she said with a smile and a hint of a laugh in her voice.

Gabriel smiled in return. "You're welcome." he said.

"Can I ask you something though?" she asked.

"Sure." Gabriel replied removing his hand from hers and sitting on the rooftop with his legs crossed as Liz slid into a more comfortable position leaning against the wall on the ledge of the building.

"Why do you think, people think of you as a monster?" she asked.

Gabriel let out a slight laugh at the question. "I don't think they do, I know they do." he answered truthfully.

"Why is that?" she asked in a therapists type of voice.

Gabriel looked out over the cityscape and thought hard on his answer before bringing himself to tell it to her. "Because I've hurt people. I'm not proud of it now, but I was when I was doing it." he answered.

Liz looked at him with a look of recognition. "So you are THAT Gabriel then." she said plainly.

Gabriel looked at her with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean THAT Gabriel?" he asked her now puzzled.

"Gabriel Grey, a watchmaker from Queens who accidentally stabbed his mother with a pair of scissors." Liz said devoid of any emotions.

Gabriel's brow furrowed at the word accidentally. "You said accidentally." he pointed out.

Liz nodded. "Because I know it was an accident." she replied.

"That doesn't matter I still killed others and they weren't accidents." Gabriel said pulling his knees up to his chest like a scared child.

Liz placed a hand on his and dipped her head down to look into his eyes. "And you show remorse, which means that you regret your actions." she told him.

Gabriel looked up into Liz's eyes. "You still don't think I'm a monster?" Gabriel asked.

Liz shook her head in response. "I don't, because I see you for what you truly are Gabriel." she said with a reassuring smile.

Gabriel looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

"You're just afraid." she said bluntly.

"I am afraid." he murmured.

"I know, but you don't have to be afraid anymore Gabriel." Liz said with such a kindness in her voice that Gabriel couldn't help but to believe her.

"Can I ask you something?" Gabriel inquired.

"Certainly." Liz said with a nod of her head.

"Why did you want to kill yourself? Really?" Gabriel asked.

"Because I too was afraid." she answered vaguely.

Gabriel looked down at his feet shifting his body slightly unable to believe that this stranger could make him go through so many emotions all at one time. What had she been afraid of? The images that ran through his head when he first touched her hand were so fast that he couldn't make sense of any of them at all. He wondered if she were truly trying to help him or if she'd wind up being like Elle and just using him.

"I'm afraid of trusting anyone anymore." Liz said as though she had been reading his thoughts at that precise moment. Gabriel looked up at her once more.

"So am I." he replied.

Liz nodded in understanding. "So, I'm going to tell you the truth about me Gabriel. Do you know what I do for a living?" she said.

Gabriel shook his head, he had been unable to pull any information out of her head aside from the thoughts of her wanting to end her life.

"I was a councilor." she said.

Gabriel looked up at her with a look of disbelief. "A councilor that wanted to kill herself?" he said.

She shrugged slightly at his response. "Ironic I know. But I just didn't want to go on with the pain of losing everyone I ever thought cared about me." she went on. "They used me and then left me, it was a vicious cycle because of my abilities."

Sylar's head tilted once more in surprise. "Abilities?" he repeated. "As in more then one?" he asked.

Liz nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I can absorb other people's abilities." she said.

Gabriel raised his brows in interest. "That's interesting. How do you do it?" he asked her.

Liz shook her head. "I don't know, all I know is that I can. I found that out the hard way." she said.

"You hurt people without meaning to." Gabriel said more then asked.

Liz shook her head and tears began to flow down her cheeks. "No, I meant to do it." she said.

Gabriel eyed her in apprehension as if just seeing her for the first time. "You felt an urge to kill." he said observantly.

Liz nodded in despair and looked up at Gabriel with tear-filled eyes. "I regret what I did, but I can't stop it." she said her hand starting to shake. "Nobody could understand. I had nobody to talk to. I knew that if I told anyone, I'd get locked up like a monster." she cried with a giant sob and dropped her head covering he face in her hands.

Gabriel slid beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I know how you feel." he said reassuringly.

"You couldn't possibly." she said, he voice muffled by her hands.

"Oh, I do." Gabriel said. "Because when I was known as Sylar, I had the same problem." he said.

Liz's head jerked up and looked into Gabriel's eyes. "You did?" she asked with a hopeful tone to her voice.

Gabriel nodded in answer. "I've killed many people and gained their abilities. I've come to regret it now, and sought out help, and was betrayed. But in the betrayal I learned the truth about myself." Gabriel explained.

"What was it?" Liz asked.

"That I was just afraid to be alone forever, and to be normal. I asked to have my powers taken away. I think it was my remorse that finally cured me of my hunger, and the willingness to give up anything to be better." Gabriel said looking Liz in the eyes.

Liz took a deep breath and looked back at Gabriel. She smiled slightly and reached up to touch his cheek gently. "You're not a monster, you're more like an angel." she said sweetly.

Gabriel smiled and leaned into her warm hand upon his cheek. He knew now that he wasn't alone after all. Here was someone who was going through what he had just gone through. Someone he knew he had to help, to save to finish his redemption.

"Liz, I think I can help you. I've attained the ability that had put me into my mental prison, I may be able to go inside your head and try to remove that hunger, forever." Gabriel said with a hopeful face.

"Please. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore." Liz pleaded.

Gabriel nodded. "All right. Close your eyes and just relax." he said placing his hands on the sides of her head.

Gabriel closed his eyes and delved into her mind scouring it for clues as to where to find the hunger inside of her. Trying to find a way to cure her forever. He delved deeply into her mind accidentally bumping into memories and emotions he hadn't intended on running into. Even though he had never met her, her mind seemed so familiar to him. It reminded him so much of himself that it brought tears to his tightly closed eyes. Then he found it. The urge, the hunger and he pushed it out of her mind trapped it behind a steel wall so it would never come out again.

Gabriel left Liz's mind and opened his eyes. He was now staring at her face, her eyes closed tightly like a teenage girl getting ready for her first kiss. A tear rolled down Gabriel's face as he moved it slowly closer to hers. He pressed his lips gently to hers and her eyes opened for a brief moment before closing once more.

Liz leaned into the kiss as their lips parted and they began to kiss each other. Gabriel's hand slid behind her head his fingers running through her hair as her hand found it's way to his neck. Gabriel was enjoying the kiss, the taste of her lips, and the warmth of her breath on his chin.

A door shut behind them and a voice spoke, "Gabri…" the voice started then sopped suddenly as if it's owner were being strangled by an invisible hand.

Gabriel turned away from Liz to face the speaker and saw Peter standing there as if frozen to the spot. Gabriel pushed himself to his feet and turned to face his friend. What he saw in Peter's face made him freeze as well. The face spoke without words, it didn't need any. It was a heartbroken look, and seeing it made Gabriel's stomach lurch as if he had just drop a thousand feet in a matter of seconds.

"Peter." was all that Gabriel could manage to get out of his mouth before his friend found his feet once more and ran back through the door from which he had just come through.

"Gabriel?" Liz said pulling him out of his revere.

Gabriel turned to look at her, seeing her face all made sense suddenly. He knew why Peter had been so adamant about saving him. About protecting him. It wasn't just because he was the only friend Gabriel had. Gabriel's eyes dropped to the rooftop as Liz approached him and took his hand gently in her own.

He looked up at her, the sympathy and understanding in her eyes made his well up with tears as well. "Go to him Gabriel." Liz said.

Gabriel took a deep breath and looked up at the sky fighting the tears building up to follow those that had already escaped. What was he to do? He had never been in this situation before.

"Why?" he asked looking at her.

She placed a reassuring hand on his cheek. "Because he needs you, and you need him." she explained.

Gabriel averted his eyes looking towards the greenhouse to the side. "What about you?" he said without looking at her.

Liz pulled his face towards her forcing him to look at her once more. "You're too kind Gabriel, I'll be fine. You've saved me, and for that I am grateful." she said kissing him gently on the cheek. "Your friend needs you now, more then I do. If you don't go to him, he will die." she said in an urgent tone.

Gabriel's brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to pry the answer out of Liz's head. Then he saw it. Peter was standing in an alleyway looking up at a fire escape, then he was climbing it all the way to the top. He stood on the top of the roof with his arms out like an eagle, before he fell forward, plummeting to the ground, with nobody there to catch him.

Gabriel shook the vision from his head and looked at Liz in agony. "You'd better go. He's nearly at the top now." Liz said releasing Gabriel's face.

Gabriel ran to the edge of the building and jumped without a backwards glance. He soared into the air as fast as he could trying to think of where the building was. It couldn't be too far because Peter didn't have any speedier ways of traveling at the time. Then he saw him, falling fast with his eyes closed and tears rolling down his face.

Gabriel swooped down and just before Peter hit the ground he was caught and flying back up towards the roof. He looked down at the ground seeing it getting further away at each second, then he looked up at the face of his rescuer.

"Gabriel?" Peter gasped.

Gabriel looked down at Peter with a tear stained face and forced a smile. "Didn't you know that leaping from a building without flight capabilities is hazardous to your health?" Gabriel joked.

Peter laughed slightly as Gabriel flew higher into the sky. The sun was setting on Manhattan as Gabriel made his way towards the sweet lady liberty. He landed them on the platform right below the torch and set Peter down on his feet.

Peter looked at Gabriel with disbelief, his eyes red from tears he had recently shed. The two stared at one another unable to speak before Peter looked away shamefully. Gabriel stepped up beside him and looked out over the city at the sunset.

"Why did you do it Peter?" Gabriel asked.

Peter clenched the rail in front of him and looked down at his whitening knuckles. "Why don't you just dig the answers out of my head." he said, tears starting to roll down his cheeks once more.

Gabriel leaned against the rail and looked up at Peter's grief stricken face. "Because I'd rather you tell me yourself." he said placing a hand on Peter's.

Peter started slightly at the contact and looked up at Gabriel. His stare penetrating those brown eyes that looked at him so calculatingly. Peter felt as if they could see right through him.

"I can't do this anymore Gabriel." Peter said, his throat tightening.

Gabriel squeezed Peter's hand reassuringly. "Do what Peter?" he inquired.

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat and looked down at the two hands that were touching on the cold rail. The warmth in Gabriel's hand felt reassuring. Peter felt like his heart was in his throat and he tried to swallow it down with a loud gulp.

"I can't fight it." he croaked.

Gabriel's eyes darted to the clasped hands then back up to Peter who was now staring off into the sunset. Gabriel's hand fell to his side as he stood up beside Peter looking out at the sunset with him.

"Then maybe you shouldn't fight it." Gabriel said. "Whatever it is you think you're fighting." he added looking over at Peter.

Peter's head dropped, his eyes closed as he began to sob, his body shaking with each breath. He brought a hand up to his face covering his eyes and stepping back against the foundation of the torch. He slid down to the ground his knees drawn up to his chest.

Gabriel's head tilted in concern and he made his way over to his friend and slowly slid down beside him. He looked at Peter sitting in the same position with his arms draped over his knees.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me Peter." Gabriel said.

They were close now, elbows touching every time Peter's sobs shook his body. He lifted his head leaning it back against the wall. He turned it to look at Gabriel who was looking back at him placidly. Peter took a deep breath and bit his lip before looking away down at his feet.

"Peter." Gabriel said placing a hand on the other man's arm. "Tell me, please." Gabriel pleaded.

Peter took a ragged breath and looked over at Gabriel once more fiddling with his fingernails. Tears were rolling down his cheeks once more. "What if you don't want to hear what I have to say?" Peter said roughly.

"You'd be surprised." Gabriel said with a smile.

Peter scoffed and looked away feeling like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. "Who was she?" he found himself asking.

"Her name is Liz. She needed my help. She was like me, how I was." Gabriel said.

Peter looked back at Gabriel quickly with a look of apprehension on his face. "You mean, she had the hunger?" he inquired.

Gabriel nodded. "But I fixed her." he replied.

"By kissing her?" Peter asked.

Gabriel barked out a slight laugh and rolled his head towards Peter. "No, by going into her head. The kiss, just sort of happened." he explained.

"So are you going to go back to her after you fix me?" Peter asked looking back down at his hands in shame.

Gabriel lowered his brows and squeezed Peter's arm. "She doesn't need me anymore. She's the one who sent me to you actually."

Peter looked up at Gabriel in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"She showed me a vision of you trying to kill yourself. Told me that you needed me more then she did. So I came to save you Peter." Gabriel explained.

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "I don't think you'll want to save me." Peter said with disappointment.

Gabriel slid to his knees and stared a hole into Peter. "If I didn't want to save you Peter I'd have let you plummet to your death." Gabriel said forcing Peter to look him in the eye.

"Only to save your guilty conscience." Peter muttered.

Gabriel shook his head in frustration. "How about you just tell me where you're going with all of this Peter?"

"Like I said, why don't you just pull it out of my head." Peter said with malice.

Gabriel's brows furrowed at the sudden change in his friends tone. "Peter, the whole idea of trust is communication. I want to know what's bothering you but I don't want to assume, nor do I want to pry into your head." Gabriel said still staring at Peter.

Peter looked up into Gabriel's eyes pursing his lips together. A look of determination filled his face and Gabriel began to grow anxious. Here he was trying to convince his only friend to tell him what's bothering him offering to help him, and he was fighting an internal battle.

"What are you fighting Peter?" Gabriel asked sliding to sit in front of Peter as to get a better view of him.

"My feelings." Peter said looking up from his hands.

His eyes met Gabriel's and there was something there that he hadn't noticed before. Peter looked like he was having a hard time breathing yet alone speaking. Gabriel slid back to being beside Peter, closer this time then he had been before.

"What feelings?" Gabriel inquired, his chin right beside Peter's shoulder.

Peter turned his head to look into Gabriel's eyes. He could see the struggle inside the other man's head without having to pry inside of it. The eyes told what the mouth refused to say, and Gabriel wondered if he would ever actually get the words out. It was when he thought this that he realized just what Liz had meant when she said that Gabriel needed Peter as well.

"_Just say it Peter." _Gabriel thought to himself.

"Part of me, says that I should hate you. The part of me that has a hard time letting go of Nathan. But that part, gets smaller as every day goes by." Peter started.

Gabriel nodded allowing Peter to continue.

"Another part of me can't help but …" Peter paused and took a deep breath looking away from Gabriel as if it would give him strength. "but to be pulled closer to you despite how much I try to fight it." Peter finished looking back at Gabriel.

"Then stop fighting it Peter." Gabriel said looking back into the other's eyes.

"What about the voice in the back of my head?" Peter asked.

Gabriel cocked his brow tilting his head in confusion. "What is the voice saying to you then Peter?" Gabriel asked.

Peter looked back down at his hands. "That you could never trust me completely. That…" he paused and leaned his head back against the wall before rolling it to look back at Gabriel. "That you would never accept me." he finished.

"Accept you Peter?" Gabriel said. "I've already accepted you. You're my only friend remember." he reminded him.

Peter looked away again shaking his head in frustration. "Maybe that wasn't the right words." he said.

"Well, try it again, this time with the right ones." Gabriel said looking at the side of Peter's head.

"I'm afraid." Peter said.

"We're all afraid of something Peter. Even I'm afraid." Gabriel said.

Peter looked over at Gabriel with a hollowed look. "Have you ever been afraid to express how you felt, because you were afraid to be rejected?" Peter asked.

Gabriel nodded. "Many times."

"That you felt like your feelings would never, could never be returned?" Peter continued.

"All the time." Gabriel said as he stared back into Peter's eyes.

"Not like this." Peter said looking away.

"Damn it Peter, just tell me already." Gabriel said sitting up quickly and kneeling in front of Peter taking his hands in his own.

Peter's head jerked up to look at Gabriel directly in front of him. "You want to know?" Peter said.

"Yes." Gabriel said.

"I've fallen in love Gabriel. And I don't think that I am loved in return." Peter spit out squeezing Gabriel's hands tightly in his own.

"How do you know unless you make your feelings known to the one you love." Gabriel whispered.

Peter's eyebrows dropped. "I just did Gabriel." Peter whispered back. "It's you." he added staring at Gabriel expectedly.

Gabriel let out a large breath of air and licked his lips nervously. So it was true. He had been right. Peter was in love with him, and Gabriel now knew why he tried to kill himself. He thought that Gabriel would be out of reach if he had fallen in love with Liz. That's why he had looked so heart broken on that rooftop.

Peter looked away, tears falling down his face once more, afraid he had just chased away his closest friend. He was caught unaware when Gabriel pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry Peter. If I'd known the truth," he pulled Peter out of the hug and looked him in the eyes. "I would have never accused you of feeling sorry for me."

Peter nodded and looked at Gabriel, knowing that he at least hadn't chased his friend away. That was a start at least. Peter dropped his head once more looking over the side of the rail's foundation.

Gabriel shifted to his knees and took Peter's chin in his hand. "I'm not going anywhere Peter." Gabriel reassured him.

Peter nodded, somehow, he believed him, like he knew that Gabriel believed him. "I know." he whispered.

His eyes dropped once more but out of the corner he could see Gabriel's face coming closer to his own. By the time he looked back up Gabriel's lips were pressed to his and his hand was sliding around to the back of his neck. Peter's heart leapt into his throat as he leaned into the kiss sliding his hand to Gabriel's cheek. Gabriel's other hand slid to Peter's back as he pulled him closer pressing their bodies together.

Peter wrapped his arms around Gabriel enjoying every moment of the kiss, the embrace. It was what he wanted, what he needed. The feel of Gabriel's body pressed to his was unlike anything he had ever felt. The sensation was more shocking then his time spent with Elle.

Peter broke the kiss and looked into Gabriel's eyes. He saw that the other man was smiling like he had never seen him smile before. "You know Peter. I think I'm in love with you too." he said taking Peter's hands in his own once more.

Peter smiled back and pulled Gabriel back into another kiss as the sun set finally behind them. They held each other close as the stars began to show themselves, blissful in the long sweet kisses that they shared.

The End


End file.
